Reviews

The Unreal and the Real Volume 2: Outer Space, Inner Lands by Ursula K. Le Guin

indianajane's review against another edition

3.0

I found some of the stories enjoyable and some almost pointless.

htbaumtree's review against another edition

This dnf is nothing against Ursula Le Guin, I just lost momentum in the middle of a story & had to return the library book. Would love to give it another shot in the future :)

riccii's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

sylda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

funktious's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Just stunning, of course. I love how Le Guin can just draw you into a story with only the barest details of the world. And I love how she uses the tools and tropes of sci-fi to examine societal issues and question traditional power narratives. These stories are entertaining, but they also make you think.

My favourites were definitely Semley's Necklace, Nine Lives, The Matter of Seggri, Solitude, The Wife’s Story and Sur. The Wild Girls broke my heart, and I’m glad I’ve now read Omelas so that I can understand all the responses to it (E.g. Naomi Novik's Scholomance books)

linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

5.0

Solitude and many others in this collection are just stunning. She pulls off writing stories as the history of a planet or a planet's literature; the weight of time dilation and more.

lethalballet's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm gonna be thinking about some of these until the day I die I think... The Matter of Seggri and Nine Lives in particular. No one else introduces speculative concepts like Mrs Ursula

enno's review against another edition

4.0

A collection of short stories in which Le Guin once again imagines alternative civilizations, or in one case an alternative history, with a strong feminist bend. My favorite of them was "Solitude", about a girl who grows up on an alien planet studied by her mother, a Hainish observer, but ends up going so thoroughly native that she has trouble fitting into "normal" society again.

goferreads's review against another edition

5.0

I only read the ones who walk away from omelas.  Stunning.

tallyfire's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It's amazing the worlds Ursula K. le Guin can come up with - especially that they're so outlandish and believable. I loved the stories about the worlds being visited by Hainish researchers. Some of the others didn't capture my interest, though.